While training five of his fighters at the Bayonne PAL for Friday's Golden Glove semifinals at Hudson Catholic High School, he's also training himself for his first bout since 2009.

Rooney is slated to face Walter Foster at Bally's in Atlantic City on April 2. But for now his main focus is on preparing his five fighters for the semifinals.

"I took over for my dad who ran the program for about 25 years; he retired three years ago," Rooney Jr. said. "I'm not only training for my fight, but getting these guys ready at the same time. So I'm wearing a lot of hats right now, but I'm having a good time and I love it.

"It's really a thrill to watch them progress not only as fighters, but as gentlemen. I check report cards for any of the kids in high school. They're not on the street using their skills to pick street fights. They use their skills here and then compete."

Roberto Ortiz is a senior at Bayonne High School who will fight in the 141-pound weight class in the sub-novice division. He won in his weight class in the sub-novice division last year.

"He's always in exciting fights. All the kids are exciting, but Roberto has never been in a dull fight. Every one of his fights is a shootout, so I'm looking forward to that myself," Rooney said.

The 23-year-old Andrew Bentley will fight in the 132-pound open division after pulling off an upset last week.

"Bentley is a lefty who won last week to put him in the semifinals," said Rooney. "He beat Rickey Edwards from Paterson, who was a favorite to win the whole thing. He's ranked in the country, but it was a major upset and Andrew beat him pretty easily."

Tyrell Wright is a 23-year-old open division 201-pound fighter who will be seeking his third-straight title in that division.

Snyder High School senior Robert Terry will battle in the 152-pound open division after winning the 152-pound novice division last year.

Gracjan Szymczak is another Bayonne senior, and he will be fighting in the 178-pound novice division. He will seek to avenge his loss in the championship last year.

The winners of the semifinals round advance to the Golden Glove championships on April 9 in Nutley. Any open division champions will proceed to the National Golden Gloves tournament in Indianapolis April 25-30.

Rob Gill, CEO and founder of Gil Financial Group, has been sponsoring the Bayonne PAL boxing program run by his childhood friend Rooney.

"I grew up with Bobby in Bayonne. My dad was a Bayonne police officer, and Bobby's dad has been a part of this gym I want to say since the late 70's," Gil said.

"So when (Rooney Jr.) approached me I was glad to do it. It's really exciting, I think Bobby is an up-and-coming trainer. I think he's going to be very good in the boxing game for the next 20 to 30 years. So it's a really exciting time for us all."

Gil also stressed that they are dedicating this event to the memory of Bobby's brother and Gil's childhood friend, Sean Rooney, who passed away in 2009. Sean was a basketball player at St. Anthony who helped lead the Friars to a national title. Gil also thanked his cousin, Hudson Catholic Athletic Director Terry Matthews for helping them to host the event at the school.Rooney Jr. spoke of the pride he feels for his students.

"A tremendous amount of work goes in this, they work really hard. We're just really proud of these guys for making it this far. I'm just looking forward to Friday night. We're hosting the show, should have a good turnout and we're going to have a good time."